Luminescence properties of Pr3+ doped 12CaO.7Al2O3 ceramics

Pr3+ doped 12CaO.7Al(2)O(3) ceramics (C12A7 : Pr3+) were prepared by a solid state reaction method. The obtained samples were characterised using X-ray diffraction and SEM methods, and the luminescence properties were investigated by means of excitation and emission spectra. The prepared C12A7 : Pr3+ ceramic samples with cubic crystal structure were confirmed, and the lattice parameter a increased slightly with the Pr3+ added. The photoluminescence of C12A7 : Pr3+ at room temperature was observed in the visible region using 488 nm wavelength as excitation source. The intense emission bands with multipeaks around 529, 615 and 735 nm corresponded to the transition P-3(0)-> H-3(5), P-3(0)-> H-3(6) and P-3(0)-> F-3(4) respectively. Moreover, photoluminescence spectra indicated that the luminescence intensity first increased and then declined with increasing Pr3+ content. The sample with 0.2 mol.-%Pr3+ doped exhibited the maximum luminescence intensity at 529 and 615 nm.